Hon. Ron Paul Of TexasBefore the U.S. House of Representatives 02/06/07

It’s a bad idea.There’s no need for it.There’s great danger in doing it.America is against it, and Congress should be.The United Nations is against it.The Russians, the Chinese, the Indians, and the Pakistanis are against it.The whole world is against it.Our allies are against it.Our enemies are against it.The Arabs are against it.The Europeans are against it.The Muslims are against it.We don’t need to do this.The threat is overblown.The plan is an hysterical reaction to a problem that does not yet exist.Hysteria is never a good basis for foreign policy.Don’t we ever learn?Have we already forgotten Iraq?The plan defies common sense.If it’s carried out, the Middle East, and possibly the world, will explode.Oil will soar to over $100 a barrel, and gasoline will be over $5 a gallon.Despite what some think, it won’t serve the interests of Israel.Besides-- it’s illegal.It’s unconstitutional.And you have no moral authori…

Here are some rules of thumb to keep in mind, thirty-six sure-fire indicators that your empire is falling apart:

You know your empire’s crumbling when the folks who are gearing up their empire to replace yours start blowing up satellites in space. And then they don’t bother to return your phone calls when you ring up to ask why.

You know your empire’s crumbling when those same folks are cutting deals left, right and center across Asia, Latin America and Africa, while you, your lousy terms, and your arrogant attitude are no longer welcome.

Every year I go through periods where I play at being a urban planner, a city builder. (please excuse the shitty lack of paragraphs, blogger don't like me today)

I play out my fantasies via a computer game, Sim City, perhaps one of the all time great games and one of the few that doesn't rely on violence or other such attractions for its entertainment value. It must have been 1989 or 90 when I first came across this game, then it was very simplistic compared to todays version. Whilst the basic premise remains the same, the game has been developed and expanded over the years until its become pretty bloody flash. The current version (4) was released back in 2003, so in real terms its old as, yet it is not dated or redundant. For many reasons, one being the nature of the game play and its addictive nature - perhaps addictive isn't the right word. More the time required to build a city or region is such that one needs to invest many, many hours into ones city. Now I'm quite …

02/08/07 "New York Times" -- - BEFORE the United States invaded Iraq on false pretexts nearly four years ago, the overwhelming view of analysts and diplomats was that war would plunge the region and the world into greater turmoil and instability. Echoing the views of my colleagues from the region and beyond, I told the Security Council on Feb. 18, 2003, that while the ramifications of the war could go beyond anyone’s calculations, “one outcome is almost certain: extremism stands to benefit enormously from an uncalculated adventure in Iraq.”

This assessment came not from any sympathy for the former Iraqi dictator or his regime. Certainly Iran — which had suffered the carnage of an eight-year war with Iraq in the 1980s, and on which Saddam Hussein unleashed chemical weapons — had no affinity for him. Rather, it was based on a sober recognition of the realities of the region and the inescapable dynamics of occupation.

There is a lot of speculation regarding a potential immanent attack on Iran by either the USA or Israel, possibly/probably both.

I can't help but read dozens of articles on topics such as this and whilst I don't discount the writings and authors I am reading and in many cases follow regularly anyway, I am unsure.

For this time last year almost the exact same articles were being written, differing scenarios with the same result, either a Israeli air attack on Iran's nuclear facilities or a 'baby' nuke attack by the US on the same facilities.

I watch the reports of the US moving another carrier group to the area and how they will be installing patriot missles in key Arab states in the Gulf.

I read about the build up and preparation in Bulgaria and Romania. The Israeli air force doing their practice runs for a potential mission and all the political and strategic reasons for such an attack.